Veum is no longer working as a private investigator. He has a permanent job as a teacher; enjoying domestic calm with his new girlfriend Karin. "The Knife," a man Varg helped convict of murder, is released from prison, determined to take revenge on those who convicted him.

Varg Veum is summoned by inspector Hamre to a hostage drama on a farm outside Bergen. A married couple have been brutally murdered, and all evidence points to their foster son, 16 year old Jan Egil.